Butterfly Kisses
by tarexpanda
Summary: The war against the hollows begins and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Swords clash and romance sparks as humans and shinigami join forces to prevent the hollows from attaining the weapon that will decide the course of the war: Kuchiki Rukia
1. Changes

Chapter 1

Passengers awoke and gathered their belongings as their bus arrived at its destination. One by one they exited the bus, all of them eager to go their separate ways to be greeted by loved ones. All except for one certain orange-haired traveler with a scowl on his face who seemed to be reluctant to get off.

Kurosaki Ichigo slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Shielding his eyes from the fiercely shining sun he scanned the street up and down and surveyed the changes. It had been five years since he had last set foot on Karakura soil but it had not seemed to change much. The buildings all remained the same but he didn't recognize any of the people who passed him by, and he began to wonder if anybody in the town remembered him.

"Ichigo! Yo, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo whirled around at the sound of a familiar voice coming towards him. A spiky haired girl stopped in front of him and punched his arm playfully. "Sorry I made you wait, my class ended a little late at the dojo."

"Tatsuki? What are you doing here?" he asked as he massaged his sore arm.

"I'm here to see you, stupid. Your dad is busy at the clinic, Yuzu is making your dinner, and Karin is still at her job so I told them that I'd come and take you back home." Tatsuki chatted lightheartedly as they walked home, "I was supposed to be here before that bus but one of my students broke his nose so I had to stay awhile longer."

"Oh, you still teach at the dojo?"

"Yeah, after I won the Number One for the strongest female college student the whole competition thing lost its appeal. Now I'm supposed to take over the dojo whenever the master retires. I teach most of the classes over there and I train with this one huge dude who comes in once a week to keep my strength up. What have you been doing?"

"Not much, just traveled around going to different places," he replied vaguely. They walked silently for a few minutes before Ichigo realized his surroundings. He paused outside of Karakura High School and watched as students met up with friends and he was reminded of the group of friends he had once been a part of. Everything had been so different then, _she_ had been there and was a part of every meaningful memory he had about this school. Memories that he had spent years trying to forget.

"Brings back old times, right?" Ichigo just nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"What's everyone else been up to?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the past.

"Well, its been a long time since I've seen most of them too. Mizuiro works at his dad's company so he has this super high level position and is living really well. He still hangs out with that idiot Keigo, though, who still lives at home and works at that fast food joint. Chad went to Mexico and is helping out in the towns there and building houses for the poor. Hmm.. who else was there? Oh yeah, that skinny guy Ishida, last I heard he went to America for college. And then there's Orihime.."

Tatsuki trailed off in mid-sentence and Ichigo turned to her in alarm. "What about Inoue? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's good. She stayed here and works for the Sunflower Tailor store full-time now. It's just," Tatsuki sighed and crossed her arms, "Orihime, that dummy, she's been waiting for you. She never left this town because she was so sure you would be back."

"I don't-" Ichigo started but Tatsuki cut him off.

"I know I know. And Orihime knows that too. But its been five years, don't you think its about time you forgot about Ru-"

"Tatsuki.." She could hear the warning in his tone but she was too caught up in what she had started.

"It's time to start over, put the past behind you. For all you know she could be dea-"

Ichigo grabbed her shoulders roughly and pulled her so that they were eye to eye. "Just drop it."

Tatsuki berated herself inwardly for having brought up the subject. _I'm so stupid, that's the whole reason why he went away, _she realized, _he left so that he could forget her._ It was a different Ichigo that was just staring in her eyes then the Ichigo she was used to. Even though his face still held that perpetual scowl, his eyes were distant now and it reminded her of that certain day 13 years ago when she had found him wandering along the riverbank. It was just as hard watching him now as it was then.

Ichigo relaxed and dropped his hands, ashamed at his sudden outburst. He opened his mouth to apologize but Tatsuki spoke before him.

"Yeah, it's none of my business. I shouldn't have said anything or tried to butt in." She grinned at him and it became a silent agreement just to forget about that awkwardness between them and move on.

"Anyway, about Orihime," she said, getting back to the old matter, "I didn't tell her you were back in town yet. I thought maybe you should do that yourself," she said, pointing her arm at him. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the time on her watch and she did a double take. "Is it already almost five? Crap, if I'm not home in 5 minutes with some tofu, my mom is going to kill me!"

Ichigo gave her a hard shove. "Then hurry up and go home. I can still remember the look on your mom's face after we broke that window when we were only six, I had nightmares about it for years."

"Are you sure?"

"I can find my way home by myself, you idiot." He pushed her again and it was all the motivation she needed to start running off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Arisawa!" he yelled after her, "thanks!"

"Yeah, whatever!" She shouted back and waved goodbye before disappearing around the corner. Ichigo grinned and continued to walk home. Tatsuki had not changed much at all since they had first met. The only difference now was that all their encounters didn't end with him in tears. He suspected though that she could still probably beat him up if she wanted to.

It was a short walk home and soon he was standing in front of the door, debating whether he should just walk in or knock. He reached his hand towards the knob when it suddenly was thrown inside and a foot flew into his face.

"ICHIGOOOO!" His father yelled before being thrown down to the ground.

"You! This is how you greet your son that you haven't seen in five years!"

Isshin picked himself up and tried his best to look dignified. "It's good to see your skills are still top-notch to be able to deflect an attack like mine. You're just lucky I did not use my Kurosaki special twin dragon move on you! Hyaaah!"

"There's no such thing as a Kurosaki special twin dragon move!" Ichigo shouted and shook his fist in the air.

"Dad, get out of the way!" Two girls pushed Isshin out of the way and Ichigo finally got a good look at his sisters. Yuzu was small with long light brown hair that fell in waves around her face and strongly resembled their mother. Karin had grown tall and fit with her straight black hair tied into a ponytail that stuck out the back of a red baseball cap.

Yuzu rushed towards him and hugged him tightly. "Onii-chan! We missed you so much! You have to promise to never leave again!"

Ichigo laughed and tried to pull Yuzu off his arm but she wouldn't budge. "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad. I wrote you guys every week and called all the time."

She shook her head and pouted, "It's not the same thing."

Karin nodded and pointed at their dad, "Yeah, you left us with a dad that has the maturity of a thirteen year-old. What were you thinking?"

Isshin's eyes filled with tears and turned to Yuzu, "Yuzu, Karin made Daddy sad again."

"You see what I mean?" Karin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Ichi-nii, why don't you take your things upstairs?"

Ichigo didn't need to be asked twice as he left Yuzu comforting their dad and Karin making things worse. He opened the door to his room and found that nothing had been touched since he had been gone. After dumping his bag on the ground he took time to examine the room. He walked around and made his way to the closet when he stopped in his tracks. The closet door was slightly open, and a part of him was so sure that if he looked into the closet now it wouldn't be empty. He gripped the handle and slowly slid the door open, only to find nothing but a pile of neatly folded blankets. He glared into the empty space and slammed the door shut so hard that the walls in the house shuddered. Nothing had changed.

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia leaned over the rail looking down on the courtyard when she heard footsteps approaching. Standing up straight she turned around quickly to face whoever was coming and make it not look like she was slacking off. "Good morn- oh, its just you." 

Renji raised his foot and kicked her. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked in mock indignation, "it's Abarai-taichou to you, peabrain. I should report you for your rudeness and for being so inattentive while on duty. You really need to stop daydreaming so much."

She rubbed her sore bottom, "I wasn't daydreaming, I was just merely watching people down in the courtyard."

"Oh really? And what were they doing?" Renji asked, tapping his foot, "and don't peek."

Rukia glared at him and folded her arms. "I was not going to peek," she lied, "there's two guys on patrol."

"What division?"

"Umm.. 11th.."

Renji looked over her shoulder, "Wow, lucky guess."

"Really?"

"NO!" He hit her head repeatedly, "There's only one kid from the 4th division sweeping. What's with you today?"

Rukia cast her eyes down and thought for a moment. "Renji, am I selfish?"

"Ye-ees! You always take up my precious time with your dumb questions!" he said jokingly. It wasn't until after he saw the expression on her face that he realized she was serious. "Hey wait, I was just kidding.."

"It's a yes or no question, it shouldn't be that hard!" she snapped.

"You're the one ambushing me with this kind of question!" he shouted back. He narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully, "Besides, why are you asking me this?"

Rukia leaned back against the rail and stared down at her feet. "No reason, I was just bored."

"Right," he scoffed, "admit it, you were thinking about that kid again." Rukia didn't respond, but she didn't have to. This was just one of the many times over the years that Renji had caught her with that forlorn look in her eyes. He was the only one she trusted enough to be able to show her emotions in front of, he only wished that he was a person better equipped to handle them.

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you just go down there and see him?"

"No." Rukia said firmly. "I want him to lead a normal life. I want him to forget that I ever existed, that I never came and ruined his life. And if I want him to forget me, then I can't ever see him again."

Renji jumped up and sat on the rail next to her. "Is that really what you want?"

"Are you deaf? Did you not hear what I just said? Maybe you should tattoo on another pair of ears to help with your hearing." Rukia folded her arms and averted her face from his searching stare. She was taunting him so that they would change the subject but he saw through her ruse.

"Hey, you have tomorrow off, right?" Renji asked cheerfully. Rukia lifted her gaze to his and nodded hesitantly. "Well I do too, so tell you what, tomorrow I'll go down to the human world. I'll just go, scope things out, and tell you how he's doing."

"But-" she started to protest but he cut her off with a sharp rap on the forehead.

"Nope, no 'buts' about it. Don't worry, I'll make sure no one sees me. No one even has to know I'm there." He hopped off the rail and called out to her as he walked away. "And all you'll owe me is one big -expensive- meal. It's a bargain, Kuchiki, it really is."

"I knew you were up to something, you freeloader!" she yelled at Renji who just gave a small wave over his head and strolled down the long walkway. Her face was downcast as she stared down the empty walkway. She really was a selfish person, she realized. It had been her decision to leave the way she did, so why the hell did she miss him so much? Rukia sighed and shook her head. Now was not the time to dawdle on such useless thoughts, she was on duty. Pushing away all her thoughts and uncertainties she set her attention back on watching the sky.

* * *

He also watched the sky above him. Victory had almost been in his grasp, but he had been rash and she had been hidden from him. But it was just a matter of time, those old fools couldn't keep her safe in that little Soul Society of theirs for long. Soon he would find her and then he would use her to destroy those who had hid her from him. The irony amused him. He looked down at army of hollows assembled around him. They were restless, eager to spill blood and devour souls. Their shrieks surrounded him andgrew louder and louder as a large crack started to appear in the sky. He smiled as he watched the crack slowly enlarge. It had begun.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any characters and such...

**A/N: **This story takes place in the future, so if you are slightly confused about the time line, don't worry. Everything will be explained in later chapters. It's kind of a replacement story line right after chapter 51 in the manga, so no soul-society arc or anything, but it does tie in some spoilers of what Aizen's been up to. This fic is intended to be many many chapters long and full of various pairings which will be revealed later on. I'm always up for comments and criticisms so please read and stay tuned for the next chapter!


	2. An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 2

_The room is dark, silent but for the sound of her heart beating against his. He can hear her soft breathing and feel the gentle fluttering of her eyelashes against his bare chest. She looks up at him, pale moonlight shining on her face, and he can hear her voice echoing through his mind._

_"I wish I could stay like this forever"_

_He tries in vain to hold on to this last image of her, but even as she speaks she fades into the darkness, leaving him alone once again._

"ICHIGOOOO!"

Ichigo rolled over just in time to evade a kick on the face. "What are you doing? Aren't you too old to still be playing this game?"

Isshin lunged towards him again, but Ichigo merely stepped aside and watched his dad crash into the wall. Rubbing the painful bump forming on his head, Isshin stepped back and nodded his head solemnly. "I see your skills have not grown rusty over the years. But I must have surprised you because your eyes are red."

"It's just allergies," Ichigo snapped, and before his dad could prescribe a weird remedy he pushed him out of the room. "Don't you have work to do? Get out!"

After kicking his father out of his room, Ichigo headed to the bathroom and flushed his eyes with water. He was used to sleepless nights by now and he knew how to hide it well.

* * *

"Good morning onii-chan!" Yuzu exclaimed brightly when he came down the stairs, "Did you sleep well?" 

Ichigo gave a noncommittal grunt and ate his breakfast without speaking. After he finished, he looked up and suddenly noticed how quiet the house was. "Where's dad and Karin? It's not like her to go anywhere without eating breakfast."

"She's been very busy at her job. She doesn't come home until really late sometimes, too. I told her it's not very safe to come in at night but, you know Karin-chan, I don't think she's really afraid of anything." Yuzu glanced at the wall clock and gave a small yelp. "Oh! I'm running late! It's very busy now in the clinic without Karin-chan's help. Bye bye!"

Ichigo watched his younger sister hurry away and then looked around the empty house. Not wanting to stay in it alone, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked outside.

He wandered the streets, looking up at the blue skies. At that moment he recognized a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, as if someone were watching him. Unable to shake away the feeling, he was about to turn and look behind him when he felt his body hit something. _Or someone.._ he realized, facing a mass of light brown hair. Without warning, the head snapped up and Ichigo swore he could hear his face bones cracking from the impact.

"Gomen nasai!" The female cried out, bowing her head repeatedly, only to hit Ichigo's head once more. "Ah! S-s-sorry! I have such a hard head! Are you okay?"

The voice, her reaction, it was all so familiar that he didn't even have to see her face to know who she was. "Inoue?"

Her head was still bowed, facing the ground, but the sound of his voice saying her name silenced her apologies and she froze. She lifted her head slowly and found herself face to face with the steady eyes that she had been waiting to see for years. "K-Kurosaki-kun?"

"Are you okay?" he asked, though his own head ached like hell.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, yes, I'm fine!" she waved her arms wildly in front of her, "see? Still functioning properly! But.. but are you okay, Kurosaki-kun?"

Her voice softened and Ichigo turned away from her gently searching eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine. What are you doing out today?"

She smiled and held up the bag she held in her hands. "It's my day off so I went outside, and the clouds looked so much like marshmallows so I just wanted to eat some!"

Staring at the bag and then up at her strangely, the wrinkle in Ichigo's brow deepened. "But Inoue, you don't have any marshmallows in there.."

"Oh!" She looked quickly in the bag, "Oops! Hahaha! I got distracted because I was thinking how they look like rice balls, and how good rice would be with fish cakes and red bean paste! But they didn't have any red bean, so I bought black beans instead!"

Not really following along with her reasoning, Ichigo just nodded. "Well, then if you're not doing anything today, do you wanna just walk around with me?"

"What? Huh? Um.." his offer took Inoue by surprise and she found herself stumbling over words. She could almost picture a small Tatsuki sitting on her shoulder telling her _'Are you stupid? Hurry up and tell him yes! Go for it! Take him down!'_ "Ah! Okay, okay, Tatsuki-chan!"

He watched her brush wildly at her shoulders and yell their friends name. Inoue definitely had not change much since he was gone. "Here, let me take that for you," he offered, holding out his hands and taking the grocery bag from her. Inoue paused when she felt his hand on hers as if reassuring herself that it wasn't one of her many daydreams.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun" _for coming back,_ she added silently, as she followed after him down the street.

* * *

_"So, how do I look?"_

_Rukia sat up from her leisurely position on the futon and glanced at Renji over her papers._

_"You look ridiculous," she replied, and promptly turned her eyes back to what she was reading._

_"Yeah, well, you don't look so great yourself" he retorted as he examined himself in the mirror. He had stole- borrowed some manga the last time he was on earth and he had dressed himself like what all the spy characters wore, complete with a black suit, tie, and sunglass. He thought he looked pretty damn cool. "What's wrong with it?"_

_"No real human dresses like that. Besides, I thought the whole point was that you weren't going to be seen." He grumbled but went back in the room to change and emerged back in his regular robes, but still sporting his specially made sunglasses. "Renji, are you sure this is a good idea?"_

_He dropped onto the empty spot next to her and pushed her off. "Of course, idiot. In fact, it's great idea, because I thought of it."_

_"Yeah, well last time we followed through with one of your stupid 'great' ideas, we almost burned the Kuchiki house down." She picked herself off the floor and rubbed her offended bottom as Renji leapt to his feet._

_"Oi, that was your fault, peabrain. Anyway, I'm off, see ya-aaa!"_

And with a wave he had left her in his office alone. If he had known what this following business had entailed, he probably would not have volunteered for it so eagerly. For most of the morning he had seated himself in a tree waiting for the punk to wake up. But it would be worth it, he decided, if it would stop Rukia from moping around like she had for the past five years.

When Ichigo finally came out of the house, Renji sat up and adjusted his sunglasses. For the rest of the morning he followed behind him, close enough to see everything he was doing, but a good distance away so that Ichigo wouldn't be able to sense his presence. He had almost been caught when the kid was about to turn suddenly, but he was rescued by a girl with enormous- _I bet she's even bigger than Rangiku. What kind of relationship do they have? _Renji wondered when he saw Ichigo reach for Inoue's hand, _and if they aren't just friends, what do I tell Rukia?_ But he pushed the thought away and decided to cross that bridge when he got there. For now, all he could do is wait and watch.

For the rest of the morning the pair strolled around town talking about various things, stopping only to eat lunch at a small café in the middle of town.

"Thanks for tagging along with me today, Inoue. It would have been pretty boring by myself." Ichigo commented as they stepped back out on the busy street.

"Oh! No, no, it was my pleasure. I had a great day, Kurosaki-kun!" She smiled warmly and threw her arms up enthusiastically. But as her arms went up, she lost her center of balance and she found herself falling through the air. Being quite used to tripping, Inoue closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact with the street. When she never felt the ground, she peeked one eye open at a time and found Ichigo staring straight into them.

"Ah!" Inoue realized suddenly that Ichigo's arms wrapped around her middle, holding her up. Backing away slowly, she hung her head sheepishly. "I zone out a lot still.. haha"

Ichigo just nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets awkwardly. He had caught her as an instant reflex and he was glad she wasn't hurt, but for some reason he felt guilty. "Yeah. As long as you're okay. But you should probably work on that zoning out thing, its kind of dangerous."

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun." Her voice softened and when she looked up at him again she was determined to tell him all the things she had been unable to say. "I-"

But even before she had began speaking, something had caught Ichigo's attention. _A black swallow-tail butterfly_, he spotted it across the street amidst the crowds of people. He didn't hear what Inoue was saying, his full concentration spent on following it with his eyes. When he glimpsed a spot of black robes, he couldn't stay still any longer.

"Hey, Inoue, I'm really sorry. I'll be right back-" Without taking his eyes off the black spot he ran, chasing after the dark glimmer of hope.

"I missed you." Inoue whispered to the empty spot next to her. Sheknew what Ichigo was chasing after, and she knew she could never even wish to compete. _But even still, I wish to stay by Kurosaki-kun's side._ As she thought to herself, she didn't notice the footsteps of the person approaching behind her.

"It's been a long time, Inoue-san."

* * *

Ichigo weaved in and out of the crowds, desperate not to lose sight of the figure. He heard the honking of the car before he saw it, standing in it's path and unable to move away in time. Right when he was about to get hit, a man grabbed him out of the way and stood in front of the vehicle. Coming to a screeching halt, the driver stared incredulously at the large man who had just stopped his car with one hand. After Ichigo's feet were set back safely on the ground he turned to thank his unexpected savior. 

"Ch-Chad?"

"Yo." Without a change in his facial expression, Sado greeted his friend with a nod. "Were you chasing someone?"

Ichigo turned his head, but he already knew that he had lost the trail. His face darkened as he stared down the empty street. "No, it was nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

_Shit._ Renji cursed at himself for having let the orange brat see him. It was carelessness on his part, he would admit, but caused only because of his sudden flare of anger. At first he had been unable to believe his eyes, but even after he removed his glasses, he still saw Ichigo embracing the big-boobed girl. _That bastard! _It was what Rukia_ said_ she wanted, but he knew her better than that. He knew how much it would hurt her to know that the boy had moved on. And now, he would have to be the one to break it to her. 

Renji arrived back at his office only to find Rukia still in the room, asleep at his desk. He watched her sleeping form silently, debating whether or not to wake her up. She stirred slightly and he made up his mind, knocking her gently on the head.

"Kuchiki-san!" he roared in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!" Rukia snapped her head up and tried to look alert before she realized that Renji was laughing at her.

"Yes, sir? You should talk to me like that all the time now." She sent him a death glare, but he just smirked and then prodded her with his finger. "Get your lazy ass out of my chair, you're drooling all over my papers."

"I don't drool, I'm not a dog like you." She replied coolly as she got up and shuffled the papers so that he wouldn't be able to see the evidence. "And by the way, your handwriting is atrocious. I thought you would actually learn how to write at the Academy, but apparently you were too busy drawing little pictures like these," she said, pointing to crude drawings of her brother with fangs dripping with blood.

Renji shrugged, "Yeah, well at least I stayed awake. But I'm beat now, so I'm gonna go to sleep." He headed towards his room, but when he passed by her he felt a sharp tug on his sleeve.

"Renji," her eyes looked up at him pleadingly and he knew that he couldn't get away that easily.

"Oh yeah, you probably wanna know what I saw today!" His voice raised a notch and he knew she could see through his fake smile, but he went on anyway. "That kid is so boring! He just sat at home all day! All alone! Okay, good night!"

"Renji," she said again, this time as more of a command, "you're a horrible liar."

The smile dropped from his face and he shifted under her steady gaze. "He met up with a girl and I saw them.. I saw them hugging in the streets."

"Oh? " The news seemed to have no effect on her and Renji finally relaxed.

"Yeah. She was just normal looking, but she had huge-" he used his hands to demonstrate just exactly how big they were.

Rukia's lips thinned as she stared at the ground and thought for a moment. "Inoue. He must have been with Inoue." When she raised head again, Renji was surprised to see that she was smiling. "That's great news! I'm glad that he realized what a nice and caring person she is. I'm happy for them."

"Really?" His eyes searched hers, making sure that she was all right. "Are you really okay?"

"I-" Before Rukia could finish answering him, she was interrupted by a loud voice booming across the Seireitei. "Attention all Captains and Vice-Captains! Attention all Captains and Vice-Captains! Your presence is required for an emergency meeting! I repeat.."

Rukia turned to Renji, her eyes wide in surprise. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Renji hurriedly pulled on his white Captain robe and grabbed his zanpaktou. Halfway out the door he paused and glanced at Rukia. "I'll be back. You stay here until I get back."

He was about to leave when a messenger appeared before them. "Abarai-taichou! An emergency order sent from Commander Yamamoto! You are to appear at the meeting immediately accompanied by Kuchiki Rukia!"

"What?" They both jumped slightly when they heard her name and stared at the messenger disbelievingly, but he was already gone.

"Renji, do you think it's about-"

"We'll see when we get there. Come on, we better go get your zanpaktou before we go to that meeting. No matter what, stay right beside me." Renji grabbed her hand firmly and cast a worried glance up at the sky. "Whatever they have to say at that meeting, it can't be good."

* * *

"Sado-kun!" Inoue's eyes lit up as she saw him and Ichigo approach. "What are you doing here?" 

"Mm.. I went to Mexico. And then.. I came back." He stated simply, leaving out what he believed were unnecessary details.

Ichigo stared at him for awhile, but when he realized that was the end of Chad's explanation he shook his head. "Just once I want to hear you respond to a question in detail, like that Ishida idiot."

"I didn't know you held me in such high regards, _shinigami."_

"Ah!" Inoue exclaimed happily as a figure stepped out from behind her, "Look who else is here! It's-"

"Ishida. Ishida Uryuu." He stood as tall as he could and glared at Ichigo over the rim of his glasses.

"We already know who you are, dumbass. What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo's mouth curled into a sneer as he glared right back at him.

"Ishida-kun just came back from America! He finished college already and is studying to become a doctor!" Inoue said brightly, trying to relieve the tension in the air.

"I'm sorry for running off like that, Inoue. I thought.. I saw someone I knew." Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortably. "It sure is a coincidence that everyone is here today, eh?"

"Fool. There are no such thing as coincidences." They all turned their heads and stared at Ishida, who looked down on Ichigo haughtily. "Do you really think we are all here because of chance?"

Ichigo could feel his temper rising as a vein popped out on his forehead. "What? You damn Quincy, you think you know everything! Of course it's chance! If none of us have spoken to each other, how else would we know to come at the same time!"

Ishida's eyes locked with all of theirs as he pushed his glasses up. "Are you really that dimwitted? That makes it even less possible that it's chance that brought us here. Someone wanted us all back. Did you not feel it? Something within you telling you to come back home?"

Opening his mouth to argue, Ichigo suddenly realized that he had nothing to say. He couldn't explain why he had decided to come back, it just felt like the right time. He looked around and saw a slight flicker of surprise cross Chad's face, which was merely a lifting of one large brow, as he realized it too.

"So what are we supposed to do? Why would anyone want us to all come back now?" Ichigo demanded, clenching his fists as his side.

A ray of light glinted against Ishida's glasses as he lifted them with his finger again, "for once, I don't know." Gazing up, he pointed at the black clouds rolling across the quickly darkening sky. "But I have a feeling that we're going to find out very soon."


	3. A Step Forward

Chapter 3

"What?" Rukia had to grip at Renji's robes to keep him from leaping at the Division 1 captain. "It's impossible! We can't just- "

"You can, and you will." Commander Yamamoto spoke quietly, but no one could ignore the authority in his voice. Renji stepped back in line and looked around the room in disbelief at the other Captains and Vice-captains assembled there. No one besides him expressed even a hint of emotion.

"It's been 5 years since Aizen Sousuke, Tousen Kaname, and Ichimaru Gin have betrayed us. We knew that Aizen would return stronger than ever, and now his preparations have succeeded. He has amassed a hollow army so large that they are capable of ripping the seams between the spiritual worlds. Our defenses here in Soul Society will not last. It is only a matter of days before that rip tears the sky open. And when his army comes forth, he will know exactly where to find the Hougyoku." The commander paused and let his grim words sink in. "That is why we are sending an elite team to guard the Hougyoku and attempt to hide its presence from Aizen."

"The time has come." Commander Yamamoto beckoned for Rukia to come forward. She had to concentrate on every step she took so that the trembling of her body would not betray the fear she felt in her heart.

"6th Division - Capt Kuchiki Byakuya"

Kuchiki Byakuya stepped forward silently.

"9th Division - Capt Hisagi Shuuhei"

"Yes, sir"

"10th Division - Capt Hitsugaya Toushirou, Vice Capt Matsumoto Gin"

"Sir!"

"And 5th Division."

Rnnji had stepped forward when Rukia had. But his vice-captain, Hinamori Momo took a timid step forward and gave a response that was barely audible.

"Don't leave out the 10th division!" Zaraki Kenpachi's voice boomed. Yachiru poked her head out from behind his spiky hair, "Yes! Ken-chan would enjoy this very much!"

Commander Yamamoto gave a nod of approval and allowed Kenpachi to step forward. Satisfied, he addressed those standing before him. "Your mission is to protect Kuchiki Rukia to the death. The fate of all souls rest in the power of your sword. Those of us who remain will begin to fortify Soul Society immediately. We are about to head to the battlefield!" He began the chant of the Gotei 13, and soon all voices in the room began to chime in and became a thunderous roar.

"Promise! Even if the ground may split, we will come back alive to this place!"

* * *

It started with a tiny sliver. At first Ichigo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, so he rubbed them and stared back up into the sky. What started as a thin black line now took the shape of a crescent, like a black moon. Something was wrong. He exchanged looks with the others and confirmed that he was not the only one that felt it. And then from the crescent emerged a familiar form. A menos pushed its way out into the human world followed by a dozen or so large hollows before the black hole closed up behind them.

The effect was instantaneous. Ishida drew his bow and began readying an arrow. Chad's arm transformed and Inoue called out the names of her fairies. Only Ichigo took a step back.

It took only a few minutes to see that they were outnumbered. Blood dripped from Ishida's fingertip. "Kurosaki! This isn't a time for you to zone out. Get into your spiritual form and fight!"

Ichigo was unable to answer him. He could do nothing but watch as the hollows closed in on them until all four of their backs were up against each other. The menos opened its mouth to fire a cero but then there was a blinding white light followed by what sounded like a bunch of loud explosions. The cero never came. In fact, even though he was blinded by all the debris in the air, he could not sense the presence of a single hollow. Finally the dust started to settle and he could make out the outlines of their rescuers coming towards them. The first person he saw clearly was a girl in an unmistakable black shinigami uniform. With hair tied back in a ponytail. And wearing a red hat.

"Yo! Ichi-nii," Karin smirked at the disbelief on her brother's face. Especially when behind her came Tatsuki, sandal-hat man, and three others, Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta, he recognized as workers from the same store. "Urahara's Shop, at your service.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm back and ready to stick with this story all the way to the end. Thanks for reading! I'll be updating soon!


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